Whip (Washington) is a great pilot. There is no denying that tidbit. So, when equipment failure on a simple flight from Orlando to Atlanta prompts an impromptu landing in a Georgia baron field, Whip is heralded as a hero. Actually, what he accomplished was short of a miracle. Whip saved 96 of the 102 souls by inverting the plane to compensate for a stuck rudder, and whip it back over to land just yards from a church busy baptizing a few believers. Whip is hospitalized, along with many of the crew and passengers as the NTSB goes to work to find out what went wrong. So, Whip is a hero, right? Well, yes and no. You see Whip has a problem. He's an alcoholic and has a fondness for cocaine as well. Further, he had a bit of coke the morning of the flight and had emptied three small vodka bottles into his OJ on the flight. Shortly thereafter, Whip fell asleep at the controls only to be awoken to the crisis in which he saved so many. Now, the story is heating up, huh?!? Even though it was Whip's incredible flight performance that saved the 96, doing so under the influence draws the ire of the Feds and yadayadayada Whip battles the NTSB and himself as the question looms. Will he or won't he get away with it?
It's good. A good story that is very thought-provoking while highlighting a big issue suffered by so many today: Addiction. I'll give it 3.5 Stars. It's 138 minutes that move fairly quickly through a wave of interesting characters while posing many interesting questions.
Denzel is great; as usual. He's not alone. Don Cheadle, who plays Denzel's attorney, and Bruce Greenwood, who plays the pilot union rep are both outstanding as well. Meanwhile, John Goodman continues his recent big screen run with his portrayal of Whip's drug provider. Fascinating characters one and all. All are well played. But it is the questions that this story poses that made this an entertaining experience for me.
The plane was obviously faulty. The plane was the root of the crash...not Whip. Whip saved the majority with his incredible flight skills. Regardless of his condition, the end result was positive for cast and crew. After all, in the story, none of the NTSB's best pilots could replicate Whip's performance in simulation. All crashed the plane. Yes, Whip's accomplishments were done so while intoxicated. Maybe he couldn't have achieved the same results while sober. There's no way of knowing. Do end results outweigh the means? Certainly. At least that's the no-brainer response presented in the movie. Mirroring a social structure that would see Whip's behavior as a betrayal of public trust in a position of great responsibility, the very notion that he was under the influence puts plenty of blame on his doorstep...even if the plane was the biggest factor of the crash.
At any rate, Flight is a good story that is told in a fascinating way while posing many intriguing questions. Yes, it is depressing at times, watching the main character sink further into his problems...watching him deny his very obvious problems...watching a hero turn into a scapegoat with each passing minute. Actually, you're caught, at times, wondering who to root for in this one. Flight presents few characters that you want to root for at all. It is, however, a flick to see. Big or small screen? Good question. There are some great special effects in this one that are best experienced on the BIG screen. If that's not important to you, it may be better suited as a rental in March.
True...OUT!
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